Portland Spoke – The Official Blog of Travel Portland

Forktown Food Tours, which guides visitors on charming culinary journeys through Portland’s neighborhoods, has added a new tour exploring the city’s core.

Inspired by all of the businesses that have recently opened in the area, Forktown now offers culinary walking tours of downtown from Thursday through Sunday. The tours showcase the different styles of eateries that make Portland’s culinary scene so dynamic. Among the six to seven stops are a food cart, a sweet shop, a fine dining restaurant and an educational or hands-on experience.

Cherry blossoms and rhododendrons herald spring’s arrival within Portland, but if you’re really into flowers, you’ll want to feast your eyes on the many wildflower patches around the region — natural beauties that you won’t find anyplace else.

Bursting with color in late April and early May, the Camassia Natural Area in West Linn was carved out thousands of years ago by the great floods, but it’s a natural work of art that’s stood the test of time. A 16-mile drive south of downtown Portland, the 26-acre preserve can get muddy in the springtime, but from its trails you’ll see more than 300 different plant species and plenty of familiar birds flocking overhead.

About 10 miles west of Portland, Beaverton’s Cooper Mountain Nature Park features 3.5 miles of gravel trails — excellent footing from which to explore the 231 acres of prairies and woodlands. The trails also offer views of the Chehalem Mountains and Tualatin Valley, showing off Oregon’s natural splendor with bursts of wildflowers all around.

Looking for more blooms? Travel Oregon offers a guide to more wildflower hikes around the state.

Sure, there’s no place like home for the holidays, but there’s no place quite like Hood River, either. This pretty little burg is an hour’s drive over(-looking) the Columbia River and through the Mt. Hood National Forest woods from Portland — and still holds dear to holiday traditions of years gone by.

Hood River Holidays (Nov. 30 – Dec. 24) gives visitors plenty of reasons to stop, stroll and shop the city’s quaint stores and boutiques, as well as kick back within its restaurants and pubs for a bit of holiday revelry.

Festivities begin at 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 30, with a holiday parade, live music, kids’ activities and the hristmas-tree lighting all heralding the arrival of Santa.

The month-long celebration fills every inch of town with holiday spirit, from boat parades featuring festively lit watercraft, to rides on Mount Hood Railroad’s Polar Express, which transports believers in the Christmas Spirit straight to the North Pole. New events are being added to the festival all the time, so be sure to check the Hood River County Chamber of Commerce website before you pack your sleigh.

Random notes on some recent experiences — an exhibition, a play and a hike – filled with dramatic peaks (both figurative and literal) that are rooted in history and culture, and enriched by the written word:

• In his insightful review of The Body Beautiful in Ancient Greece — on view at the Portland Art Museum through Jan. 6 – Bob Hicks of Oregon Arts Watch reminds us that “it was a painted urn, after all, that inspired Keats to poetry.”  And while seeing The Discobolus might conjure up memories of a long-ago art history class, Hicks notes that “You can’t bring back the past. You can only glimpse it and try to understand it, dimly. Still, The Body Beautiful reminds us that a great deal of what began in Greece is still a vital part of us.”
• Earlier this month, Hicks waxed poetic about August Wilson, who wrestles with a more recent past in Seven Guitars, part of Wilson’s 10-play cycle that illuminates the African-American experience. The terrific production at Artists Repertory Theatre runs through Nov. 11. (A quick side note for fans of Wilson: Portland Playhouse will stage King Hedley II Dec. 6-30).

Ruckel Creek Trail

• I was lucky enough to catch a Friday-night performance of Seven Guitars, followed a couple of days later by a hike in the Columbia River Gorge, where I covered a portion of the Ruckel Creek Trail. It’s a challenging climb, but one that yields a particularly nice reward, best described by the great William L. Sullivan: a “strange, hummocky, moss-covered rockslide” pockmarked with pits that “were dug at least 1,000 years ago, evidently as vision quest sites for young Indian men.” For further inspiration — plus helpful maps and deft descriptions — check out Sullivan’s indispensible guidebook, 100 Hikes in Northwest Oregon & Southwest Washington.

Photo by Dave Shea, via Flickr

Adding to the list of all that Portland-area visitors and residents have to be grateful for is the annual Wine Country Thanksgiving (Nov. 23-25). During Oregon’s premier tasting and cellar-stocking event, more than 160 wineries open their doors to the public, offering samples of favorite labels and special vintages. From Dundee-based White Rose Estate’s 2010 Pinot Noir, which was just named the year’s best wine by Portland Monthly, to Dayton-based Sokol Blosser’s Evolution White, a fruity splash that pairs great with a variety of dishes, there are literally hundreds of wines to choose from.

The holiday weekend festivities include live music, food and wine pairings, and the opportunity to visit with winemakers at some of Oregon’s top wineries — including many not usually open to the public.

The easiest way to wind your way is with the Willamette Valley Mobile Wine Tour. This smartphone-optimized website uncorks all the info you need to organize a Wine Country Thanksgiving road trip, including vineyard hours, wine details, contact information and GPS-assisted maps. It’s amazing when you think about it: Thirty years ago, when the event was first launched, such an innovation was unimaginable. But today, the wine is still a timeless treasure.

Photo by VJ Beauchamp, via Flickr

There’s no telling when the first person set eyes on the Willamette Falls, but Native American legend says a god put the great, gushing waterway there so come wintertime, the indigenous people would have plenty of fish to eat. The first time you set eyes on the horseshoe-shaped cascade — the second largest waterfall in the U.S., behind Niagara — it’s certain to be a memorable experience, especially if it’s at the Willamette Falls Festival (Oct. 12-14) in historic Oregon City.

The first city west of the Rockies to be incorporated, Oregon City has used the Willamette River as its engine for more than 150 years, deriving industry and electricity from the perpetually flowing falls. This three-day festival celebrates the reopening of the historic arch bridge that connects Oregon City with West Linn — a gracefully swooping structure that frames scenic views of the waterfall, while providing commuters with practical means to cross the river. On this weekend, however, people will rule the roadway, meaning pedestrians are free to bike, jog, walk and even picnic on the bridge — when the parade or fun run aren’t crossing from one bank to another, of course.

Live music, a Saturday market, an interactive sculpture project and an art walk contribute to the festivities. Meanwhile, educational activities like a Native American fishing demonstration, heritage walking tour, open houses and geocache sites make it a fun learning experience suitable for all ages. But remember, it’s not every day — or every year, for that matter — that you get to explore a newly re-opened bridge, without restriction. So be sure to shoot down to the falls, because, like a great legend, this once-in-a-long-while opportunity is something you won’t soon forget.

With rivers criss-crossing the state and the Pacific Ocean lapping against the coast, there’s a wealth of watery ways to spend a hot summer day in Oregon.

Image courtesy of Hood River WaterPlay

A 75-minute drive east of Portland, Hood River is the windsurfing capital of the world. Known for extreme athletes who harness the gusts that barrel down the Columbia River Gorge, this small town has a surf village vibe, and is a great place to learn a new hobby. Hood River WaterPlay teaches everyone from beginners to experts how to hook the wind, whether with a kite board, on a stand-up paddle board, or while windsurfing.

Larger groups can paddle in unison on a trip with Blue Sky Rafting. Located 30 miles outside Portland on the Clackamas River, this outfitter expertly pilots many of the local streams that fluctuate in difficulty as the winter’s snow melts off the mountain, forming some fun rapids. Or, if you want to ditch the oars but hold onto the excitement, a good jet boat ride might be just the thing. Willamette Jetboat Excursions rip down the city’s central waterway, showing off the skyline, bridges and riverfront in rapid fire. Narrated with local facts and stories, it’s a great way to get a splash of local insight.

Wings & Waves Waterpark

Even on rainy days, there are still ways to enjoy the water. North Clackamas Aquatic Park, located just outside Portland in Milwaukie, packs in six swimming pools, three water slides, a 29-foot rock climbing wall, wave pools, hot tubs and a kiddie pool — so everyone can make a splash here. The same goes for Wings & Waves Waterpark, 45 minutes west of Portland in McMinnville. With 10 slides — some originating from a real 747 jet –  and a children’s museum that focuses on the power of water, it’s a great place for kids to soak in a little summer learning on the sly.

Oregon is one of three U.S. states that require their cities to have an urban growth boundary, a perimeter separating the metropolis from the countryside. That means it’s only a short drive from downtown Portland to the middle of nowhere, where the region’s grandeur is at its most magnificent. Acres of wildflowers stretch to the sky, forests provide a canopy of green, and farms etch the land with row after aisle of berries and vegetables.

A great way to take it all in is the Vineyard and Valley Scenic Tour Route. A 50-mile drive through Washington County, this road caroms from historic site to scenic vista, showing off Tualatin Valley’s wineries and farms, amidst staggering views of the Cascade Mountains.

Hillsboro’s Smith Berry Barn is a popular stop along the route, where peckish drivers can pick all sorts of treats, like 20 varieties of berries, straight from the vine. Visitors looking to drink in the region’s natural wonder will love the wines at sustainable Ponzi Vineyards in Beaverton. And summer is blackberry season — shops along the route like Gramma’s Farm Store in Sherwood have the tasty dessert toppings by the pint.

A great time to drive through the valley is during the Oregon Lavender Festival, July 14-15, when dozens of fragrant farms invite visitors to sniff, explore and embrace the area’s natural perfume. The scent has made many amorous for Oregon’s outdoors, and the entire route is likely to make you fall in love with the region, too.

Annie Bailey from Clackamas Co. Tourism holding Marquam Hill Ranch's award-winning alpaca, "Conopa Royal."

How often do you have the chance to hold something as cute as this, as fluffy, as special? Rarely. But I was the kid in school who would have been the last to join 4-H club, and I chickened out.

This sweet thing was just one of the many cuties I got to see up close a couple of weeks ago, and it made me feel like a kid again. I was touring the Molalla Country Farm Loop, a group of farms out in Clackamas County.

So close to Portland, Molalla feels like a world away with its rural reality of pastures, barns and fields. I saw elk, horses, sheep, geese, chickens, pigmy goats, and even a wallaby. It was so much fun, and a perfect way for a family with kids to spend a day this summer.

In the fall, there are farm stands, orchards and wineries to check out as well. You can download a map and brochure here. This video shows a lot more of what the area is all about. Enjoy!

My view from the top of "Cabbage Hill" in Eastern Oregon on my recent road trip.

The weather is warming, the days are getting longer, and the itch to get out and explore is mounting!

Put down your to-do list, step away from the laptop, and make plans to savor the open road. Whether on four wheels or by bike, Oregon has so much to offer for the road trip warrior (or even the weekend novice).

Need some ideas? Visit Travel Oregon’s website, get inspired and make plans to explore your world. It’s beautiful out there. It’s Oregon!